Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”
—John 14:1
The fact is, our hearts are troubled. Some days it is hard even to look at a newspaper or to listen to the radio. If you have half a wit, your heart is troubled about war; about crises in the environment; about disease, hunger and clean water; and about children who suffer. Even when life in our personal spheres seems fruitful, careful observation of the larger sphere is troubling.
Remember: when Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled,” he is preparing to die. This is not some saccharine one-liner like “Smile. Have a good day.” He is saying this while looking straight into the fact of his death. He is telling the disciples, and us, that the goodness of God is infinite, that our lives and our troubles are held within that infinite love, even when—especially when—the circumstance of our lives is harsh or tragic.
He is telling us that just as he was born and will die, so too with us. And he is urging us to trust—to risk acting in ways that bring life to others, to dare to dream of a world in which troubled hearts are always met with care and kindness. He is asking us to trust enough to embody God’s life in the world, to offer our troubled hearts as places of encounter and transformation.
What matters in the long run is how we live between our birth and our death. How will we live this transitory life? How will we value the fragility and resilience of the life all around us? How will we hold the tension of trust in God and unease about our present context?
Let your heart be troubled about the suffering of the world. And then entrust the trouble to the Risen Christ, allowing him to invite you to participate in making things new. Be willing to let your troubled heart become an open heart, your body to be Christ’s body. And then see what happens.
Risen Christ, lead me to trust you when my heart is troubled, and give me the courage and the will to persevere. Amen.
Copyright ©2009 Mary C. Earle.
